API Reference

Cortex Asset API — REST endpoints for searching, previewing, and downloading game assets. Base URL: https://api.cortexassets.com/v1

Authentication

All API requests require a Bearer token. Include your API key in the Authorization header. You can generate and manage API keys from your dashboard.

bash

curl https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/account \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Requests without a valid API key return 401 Unauthorized.

Search

GET/v1/assets/search

Search the asset library. Returns up to 50 results by default. Search and preview are free — no credits consumed.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
q	string	Yes	Search query (e.g. "fire icon", "forest ambience")
type	string	No	Asset type: image, audio, model, font
assetClass	string	No	Sub-class: sprite, tileset, sfx, music, etc.
style	string	No	Visual style: pixel-art, realistic, cartoon, etc.
category	string	No	Category tag, e.g. characters, ui, environment
theme	string	No	Theme tag, e.g. fantasy, sci-fi, medieval
license	string	No	Filter by license: cc0, mit, cc-by, etc.
limit	integer	No	Number of results (1–50, default 20)

bash

curl "https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/assets/search?q=fire+icon&type=image&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

json

{
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "ast_01HXYZ123",
      "title": "Flame Icon",
      "type": "image",
      "assetClass": "sprite",
      "style": "pixel-art",
      "license": "cc0",
      "previewUrl": "https://cdn.cortexassets.com/preview/ast_01HXYZ123.webp",
      "creditCost": 5
    }
  ],
  "total": 42,
  "limit": 5,
  "offset": 0
}

Asset Metadata

GET/v1/assets/{id}

Retrieve full metadata for a single asset including all tags, dimensions, and license details.

bash

curl https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/assets/ast_01HXYZ123 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

json

{
  "id": "ast_01HXYZ123",
  "title": "Flame Icon",
  "description": "Animated pixel-art flame sprite, 32x32.",
  "type": "image",
  "assetClass": "sprite",
  "style": "pixel-art",
  "category": "effects",
  "theme": "fantasy",
  "license": "cc0",
  "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "format": "png",
  "width": 32,
  "height": 32,
  "fileSize": 2048,
  "creditCost": 5,
  "previewUrl": "https://cdn.cortexassets.com/preview/ast_01HXYZ123.webp",
  "createdAt": "2025-11-15T08:22:00Z"
}

Preview

GET/v1/assets/{id}/preview

Returns a 302 redirect to a preview file. Always free — no credits consumed.

Images: Watermarked WebP thumbnail
Audio: Clipped MP3 (first 15 seconds)
3D models: Rendered PNG thumbnail
Fonts: PNG specimen card

bash

curl -L https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/assets/ast_01HXYZ123/preview \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -o preview.webp

Download

GET/v1/assets/{id}/download

Download the original asset file. Costs 5 credits per download. Returns a 302 redirect to a signed URL (valid for 60 seconds). Returns 402 if your balance is insufficient.

bash

curl -L https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/assets/ast_01HXYZ123/download \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -o flame-icon.png

json

// 402 Payment Required — insufficient credits
{
  "error": "insufficient_credits",
  "message": "You need 5 credits to download this asset. Current balance: 3.",
  "requiredCredits": 5,
  "currentBalance": 3
}

Account

GET/v1/account

Returns basic account information including your current credit balance.

bash

curl https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/account \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

json

{
  "email": "you@example.com",
  "creditBalance": 145,
  "createdAt": "2025-10-01T12:00:00Z"
}

Usage History

GET/v1/account/usage

Returns a paginated list of credit transactions (purchases and downloads).

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
limit	integer	No	Results per page (1–100, default 50)
offset	integer	No	Pagination offset (default 0)

bash

curl "https://api.cortexassets.com/v1/account/usage?limit=50&offset=0" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

json

{
  "transactions": [
    {
      "id": "txn_01HABC999",
      "type": "download",
      "assetId": "ast_01HXYZ123",
      "assetTitle": "Flame Icon",
      "credits": -5,
      "balanceAfter": 145,
      "createdAt": "2026-01-10T14:33:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "txn_01HABC888",
      "type": "purchase",
      "credits": 500,
      "balanceAfter": 150,
      "createdAt": "2026-01-09T09:00:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "total": 24,
  "limit": 50,
  "offset": 0
}

Errors

All errors return JSON with error and message fields.

Status	Error code	Description
400	bad_request	Missing or invalid parameters.
401	unauthorized	Missing or invalid API key.
402	insufficient_credits	Not enough credits to complete the download.
404	not_found	The requested asset does not exist.
429	rate_limited	Too many requests. Retry after the Retry-After header value.